Not all u2f keys require being touched. That's an optional hardware implementation detail, rather than a mandatory trait across all u2f devices. Yubikey sells keys that are commonly used by plugging them in, leaving them, and never again touching them. This effectively turns the computer itself into the second factor.

Depending on the precise scenario, that may or may not represent an improvement. If the key is used as a second factor to authenticate to the network, then an infected Excel document will trivially ignore the involvement of a Yubikey as it uses the logged-in user's Kerberos ticket to spread.

You're completely right, though. Even this would definitely cut down on phishing attacks that send users to fake websites pretending to be internal systems.